Pray You Catch Me Listening
by localsportsteam
Summary: Spotting an eavesdropping Ariel, Eric decides to pursue this warm, real girl right before his eyes. Will he be able to do so before Ursula tricks him? Reuploaded by request


Ariel looked out of her bedroom window at Eric, who played a lovely tune on his flute she could hear clear as if the window was open. The night was dark and almost moonless, and Eric stood by himself. For perhaps the third time today, Ariel was curious as to why there weren't more _humans_ around the castle! Why didn't Eric invite everyone over, have people in the castle all the time? There was just so much to do, so much to learn! How could he not have the same thirst she did?

But, she was glad for it at this current time, because there was no one to distract him from her, and she needed every leg up she could get. Once he kissed her and broke the spell, she could have her voice, she could have time back! She could have everything she needed to figure him out, and the rest of the human world while she was at it.

She sunk her chin to her palm and sighed silently. Ariel could see their future so perfectly, coming so quickly, so soon! If the fates would just let her have it, then Ariel and Eric could spend their days exploring and their nights dancing. In her future there were swirling dresses, summer picnics, endless and endless days and nights of absolute bliss; a human life, lived the way she had always imagined one would be.

And today had been so wonderful! She and Eric had gone to town and danced. There were all sorts of shops and hustle and bustle, everything had been downright magical! It was, without a doubt, the best day of her life so far.

She was shaken from her reverie as Eric looked up at her. They were not too far apart, and he must've seen her staring like some sort of lovesick fool! Ariel smiled at him a little and then ducked out of sight, leaning against the wall and exhaling. Within seconds, she heard another voice.

Curious, she peaked out, opening the windowpane to hear a bit better. It was Grimsby! He was such a kind old man, and Eric seemed very fond of him.

"…one warm, real, and right before your eyes" With a sweeping gesture clearly intended to reference Ariel, Grimsby smiled at Eric.

Ariel's mouth dropped open and she dropped to the floor, out of sight. Did this confirm everything she had hoped? Did Eric really love her?

Her mind raced as she hoped to piece all of this together. There's no way Grimsby could be talking about anyone else! There weren't any other guest here, or, at least, not any she had seen! And, after all, Eric had spent the whole day with her. He always seemed to be enjoying himself, and she had fallen for him so quickly – why couldn't he do the same for her?

She knew that she had to go to him. Now. Before he had too much time to second guess himself. She ran by a mirror, stopping to fluff her hair a bit. She wished she wasn't in a nightgown! She wished she had time to do her hair! But she only had time for one thing – and that was to find Eric.

Her bare feet thundered down the stairs, making a pleasant amount of noise. Ariel smiled a bit at this – she hadn't been making noise in a couple days now. She missed it. Oh, drat this unfamiliar castle! She spun for a second and stopped, putting her fists to her hips. How was she supposed to get out to where Eric was? Would he even still be there?

Running towards the directions he knew he was, her only hope is that by some luck, by some fate, there would be a door. She peered down dead-end hallways, threw open a few promising doors to find only disappointment – but, look!

An otherwise normal room had a window thrown all the way open – a maid must've forgotten to close it. The drapes beckoned forward with the breeze, drawing Ariel out. There was only sand beneath her – a two foot drop at most. Ariel swung her head under the opening and finessed her way out with all the grace a girl could muster with only two days of practice. She headed towards the sea; it always had a way of drawing her.

The castle extended out a bit; a sort of walkway-porch thing that seemed like just where Eric was standing. Ariel pressed forward quickly, stopping only when she saw him come into view. He was playing his flute again. With a sigh he pulled it down to look at it, and with a determined look in his eye, he reached back as if he was going to fling it.

She rapped three times on a pillar next to her.

Eric spun around, still gripping the flute. "Ariel!"

She smiled a 'hello' at him.

Eric tucked the instrument into a pocket and rushed to her. "I-I was just going to come find you. You must've read my mind."

She beamed up at this and took his hand.

"I, I was really relying on those few minute to think of what to say – well, more, how to say it."

Ariel cocked her head to the side.

"I don't want to sound like a loon, but, at the same time, I don't think you'll see me as one for saying this." Eric continued nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

She squeezed his hand. Come on, Eric! Out with it!

"Ariel, these two days have been more fun than, well, any other days of my life." He gave her a crooked smile.

She smiled back in agreement.

"And every time you do something, it surprises me!" He laughed a little. "In a good way." He added quickly. "And I don't know if you'll be staying with us forever, or where your family is, or what your plans are, but I-I" he gulped a little at this, nerves overcoming him.

…

Ursula rose from the ocean, Ursula no more.

Her form had been changed, and she supposed she needed a new name. Something seductive, something fitting to her new form, her new style…her new voice.

Vanessa.

Vanessa slunk up the beach, righting herself and looking up at the castle. It wasn't too far away; she had aimed her assent well. Fingering the shell that hung around her neck, she delighted in knowing that soon the little mermaid would return to her most deserved form. It would be a plan most easily executed. Her voice would lure Eric out the shore, wherever he may be. The song he had heard only in his head would soon be real, and there was no way he could pass up the chance to finally hear it again, to confirm his sanity and fulfill his dreams!

As soon as he was lured out, there she would be, the woman of his dreams, his nightmares. And as soon as he looked at the glowing shell around her neck, he would be entranced. One look, that's all she needed.

And, oh, how easy it would be to get.

…

Eric wished she could tell him what she was thinking. She just kept smiling and looking up at him softly. Ariel clearly wanted him to continue speaking, but he wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what he needed to say. It was so soon. But was it too soon? Eric knew what he felt in his heart, in his bones was real, but he didn't know if…if she felt the same way.

If he told her he loved her, she may be frightened off. She may leave, go back to wherever it is that lovely girls grow, and he may never see her again. He would never know that if he had just waited, then she may have had time to develop feeling for him as well. But, then again, what if she did love him? And if by giving the situation all this buildup and then not saying anything, she may assume that he didn't care for her at all, and flee back to her home.

Neither scenario was pleasant. Both were scary.

But, between these two hells was another option that combined the best aspect of both. Maybe Ariel did truly love him, and if he told her they could be together. They could have days like the one they had today, full of joy and laughter and brand new perspectives. Eric wanted it so badly.

So badly, that he had almost completely forgotten the mystery woman who saved his life. She still danced in and out of his head, but as soon as Ariel drew his attention, she was gone. Grimsby was right, he had to let go.

Suddenly, and with alluring force, the melody began again, but Eric could swear that he was hearing it outside his head! He almost dropped Ariel's hand, he almost turned around to confirm, but he had come to the conclusion that was much more important; she didn't matter. Only Ariel did.

So, to Ariel, he confessed.

"I love you."

Ariel's face broke out in a beaming smile and she gave a little hop, wordlessly conveying that she felt the same way.

With this encouragement, Eric swooped down to kiss her, and found himself suddenly amazed. A beam of light it seemed, there was no better way for him to describe it, suddenly encircled Ariel, pushing him away. It brought the melody closer, closer, until it seemed to be consumed by Ariel, and she held the final note.

Looking at how she suddenly clutched her throat, he cautiously asked. "…Ariel?"

"Eric!" she said with such gleaming joy, in her perfect voice.

"You can talk!" Eric exclaimed, swooping her up into his arms.

"I can sing!" she cried back.

"It's you!" he placed her down, but didn't let her go. "It's been you this whole time!"

"I wanted to tell you, but-" In lieu of words, Ariel merely tapped her throat.

Eric chuckled a little at this. "Well, you can say whatever you please now."

…

Ursula recoiled. Her greatest bargaining chip – gone! Ariel had her prince, her dreams, her humanity! Dissolving her spell, Vanessa became Ursula once more. This was unacceptable! How was she supposed to manipulate that little mermaid? How was her plan supposed to continue?

Refusing to accept this as ultimate defeat, but unable to continue her plan, Ursula went back to the sea, and back to her lair.

She would plot, but for now, she would have to wait.

…

"Come on!" Eric said with a sudden boyish delight. "Let's go inside – get Grim, get Carlotta! They have to see!"

"Okay!" Ariel agreed happily.

The two raced inside, hand in hand, and to the study where Grim, Carlotta, and a few other 'head servants' spent most of their evenings.

"Grim, Lottie, you've gotta hear the good news!" Eric proclaimed, as the two stopped in the doorframe, panting and out of breath.

"What is it?" Carlotta asked, excitedly.

"Ariel will tell you." Eric said proudly.

"What?"

"I can talk!" Ariel exclaimed, running towards Carlotta for a hug.

"Oh, honey!"

"This is wonderful news!" Grimsby chimed in, patting Ariel on the shoulder.

"Oh, Grim." Ariel said, flinging her arms around him next.

Grimsby was startled by this initially but eventually accepted it and hugged the girl back.

"How did this happen?" Carlotta eventually asked.

Ariel looked around at the three in her presence and began a long story of a girl, her dream, her love, and everything she was willing to do to get the life she desired.

…

That night, Ariel tugged Eric down to the beach.

"There's still a lot to, well, wrap up." She confessed. "My family, especially. I left right after that fight, and I don't want that to be the end of me and my family. I still wanna see my sisters, my father…"

"Of course." Eric pulled her down to a sitting position and rubbed her back. "We'll start fixing everything – tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Ariel smiled. "My third human day."

"Of many to come!"

"We can dance, and ride horses, and build birdhouses, and go sailing, and knit, and cook, and I want to see fields and more castles and more towns and everything!" Ariel exclaimed, finding herself growing very excited. "We'll do all this, won't we?"

"Of course!" Eric exclaimed, meaning it.

"This is wonderful." Ariel smiled, settling back.

"Ariel." Eric said, feeling lighter than ever. "I love you!"

Ariel smiled, and said with all her heart and all her voice, "I love you, too!"

Reviews:

just have one word to say. Awwwwwww it was beautiful

Guest chapter 1 . Aug 15

Continue this story please or I might have to do it myself with a disclaimer for you.

sculver92 chapter 1 . Jun 4

Aww. So cute!

lizzieemcullen chapter 1 . May 27

This was really good. Please consider doing a sequel or another chapter for this. I would love to see what happens next in this AU.

Marinette Jean Everdeen-Chase chapter 1 . May 20

This was amazing! We are doing the little mermaid junior at school and I was wondering what would happen if Ariel kissed Eric before the third day was up. This is brilliant at explaining it!

The BritCrit chapter 1 . May 5

After two epic Little Mermaid fanfics, its interesting to see LST do a oneshot again. They have different requirements, and it's interesting to see how LST handles them.

This fanfic relies on a rather conventional premise. There are plenty of fanfics on this site wondering what would have happened if Ariel and Eric kissed before the third day was up. Some (Such as this one) are onshots, others (e.g "Faithful Night") use this idea to start a larger story.  
Personally, I'm not a fan of this AU premise. I really like the fact that, in the movie, Ariel fails to get Eric through Ursula's deal, and has to fight (or try to fight) Ursula to earn her right to be human. It's an interesting way of dealing with the dated and problematic "True Love's Kiss" trope, and sends the excellent message that "You get what you want through selflessness and tenacity, not the quick fix of a prince's kiss". (Not far removed from the message of Andersen's source material, in spite of the different outcomes!). For these reasons, I am against the idea of Ariel and Eric kissing in time, as it feels a bit conventional and ensures that Ariel doesn't have to grow as a character.

That said, I am not reviewing this fanfic for the storyline, but the way LST handles it, and this fanfic is very well-written. In light of my criticism that Ariel lacked agency in "Belonging", it's nice to see that her happy ending here is the result of her seeking out Eric and getting him to admit his feelings. Another great aspect is the description in the first half of the story, which emphasises the thoughts and feelings of Ariel, Eric and Ursula really well. In the moments when Ariel is mute, her actions speak louder than words, and the description of these are short and expressive. In contrast, Eric's romantic feelings are conveyed in longer sentences full of passion, and Ursula's confidence in her schemes (misplaced in this story) highlight why she's such a great villain.

When Eric and Ariel kiss, and Ariel gets her voice back, the story focuses on dialogue, and this is used to communicate Ariel's joy at getting what she wanted. Even if I'm not keen on the means by which Ariel got her happy ending, It's wonderful to see so her enthusiastic about her future with Eric.

There are some intriguing loose ends (How will Ariel's family react? What will Ursula do next?) but this works fine as a stand-alone, and I can't really imagine it as a "Faithful Night" type story.

Looking forward to reading more stories from LST in the future.

P.S I love the title!

jmschocolate chapter 1 . May 4

Yay! I love it! I can't wait to see where it goes!

Rosa Cotton chapter 1 . May 3

Bless Eric...I wanted to hug him when he became so nervous. But this was very nice! I believe this is the first story I've read of this scenario (Ariel being kissed before her time is up) and Ariel got her voice back. I love happy endings. :)

Thank you for sharing this!

Megan Lyle chapter 1 . May 2

This is a terrific story! You should update it.


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